Secure devices have been used for years in applications presenting the need for strong security. The exponential growth of the internet has also had the unfortunate side effect of speeding up the dissemination of malware and facilitating access to malware creation techniques. New threats such as spyware have emerged during last decade, making feasible attacks based upon spying the communications between a host and a smart card, and making necessary to adapt the way secure devices are being used.
A traditional architecture for the use of secure devices involves a local connection of those appliances to a host computer. This computer may be a handset, a PC, an ATM machine, or any other type of device. The concept generally used is one secure device connected to one host computer to secure access to a specific service or application from that host computer. An application is typically executed on the host computer which communicates with the secure device, usually by means of APDU commands whenever needed.
The need for a local connection between the secure device and the host computer sometimes creates a problem by limiting the range of devices usable for an application. This problem can go as far as preventing the deployment of application involving smart devices due to the lack of equipment supporting their use.
For example, in the field of secure IPTV devices, on the one hand secure devices are suitable for content ciphering/deciphering, but on the other hand, there is an emergence and a growth of a nomadicity constraints requiring access to the premium TV content any time, anywhere, from any device (PC, Mobile, TV, gamestation . . . ). The multiplication of the form factor of viewing devices makes a lot more difficult the large scale deployment of secure devices for content decryption.
Secure devices offer an attractive value proposition by providing secure data storage, opaque code execution and true random number generation capabilities. The use of secure device usually results in higher security level to protect application data and access to services, primarily because secure devices enable the use of two (and sometimes more) authentication factors: (What You know and What you have).
Up to now applications involving secure devices typically involved a physical connection of the secure device to some host computer (PC, Handset, ATM . . . ) used to access the protected service. Physical presence of the secure device is usually required to validate a credential (such as a pin code) in order to guarantee two factors authentication.
Currently there are emerging applications using secure devices as network entities exposing security services accessible remotely. In this use, there is no a physical local presence of the secure device, hence, the meaning of the “what you have” authentication factor becomes unclear.
It is then an object of the invention to provide a method for preserving the benefits of two factors authentication when using remotely located secure element by using two secure devices working in collaboration. One of them, containing the data or secrets tied to a specific service is remotely located while the other one is “in the hands of the user” . . . . The invention aims to provide a method for secure devices not physically “in the hand” of the user.
Thereto, the present invention provides a method for providing a user with an authenticated remote access to a remote secure device, said remote access being initiated from a local accessing device, said remote secure device embedding secure data related to a specific service, characterized in that it comprises establishing a mutual authentication between said remote secure device and a local secure device different from the local accessing device so as the user of the local accessing device is able to access to the secure data of the remote secure device.
According to one aspect of the invention,                the method may comprise establishing a secure communication channel between the local accessing device and the remote secure device so as to provide a one way authentication, said local accessing device authenticating the remote secure device;        the remote secure device may contact the local secure device using the SIP protocol;        the method may comprise using a peer application in the remote secure device and a peer application in the local secure device so as the two peer applications negotiate the setup of a data session between the remote secure device and the local secure device        the remote secure device may provide a user interface on the local accessing device after the setup of said data session between the remote secure device and the local secure device;        the method may comprise capturing a PIN code entered by the user and sending back said PIN code to the remote secure device for verification;        the remote secure device may grant access to its secure data to the local accessing device after checking the entered PIN code;        the method may comprise using a storage area network as remote secure device;        
the method may comprise using laptop PC as local accessing device.
Thanks to the invention, the second secure device, such as a UICC inserted in the user handset, captures a physical interaction to insure two factors authentication.
The invention advantageously provides an application involving remote authenticated access to a secure storage area network from an “anonymous PC”.
According to the invention, a functionality of the security application is shared between two distinct secure devices: a remote and a local one. The remote secure device can advantageously contain data and security elements directly related to the service or application, while the local one can take care of the user interaction.
The various aspects, features and advantages of the invention will become more fully apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art upon careful consideration of the following Detailed Description, given by way of example thereof, with the accompanying drawings described below: